How amps and electronics saved drum corps by changing it.

[Big Bad Bari]

do you want 23 full corps....or just 8? Do you want to keep OC, which feeds kids to World...or do you want them gone so only the top of the top get the cash.

no all corps are not created equal. but when I look athe ego filed monsters of MLB or the NFL, they do a far better job of promoting the teams not at the top than DCI does, and these guys are playing with far more money than even Hop could burn thru in a year.

So, when you run a super show in Texas...why the hell shouldn't you make it say a 10 corps show and give the local guys some love? Why couldn't Surf get some love in their home state Sunday? Spirit down at Crowns show? madison or the Colts at Phantoms?

I'm not saying they have to have all 23. But, maybe being smart and including corps local to the area would be good for all, not just 8.

which since the one added in as a compromise is in danger of falling out, I wonder how much G7 stuff will be reborn this fall?

You miss my point... I do not think using the G8 corps to entice people to come is a forthcoming manner in which to hook people in... They will ultimately be disappointed. I think using all 27 corps... Aren't there 27 not 23? I could be wrong but anyway using all of them is the way to promote people to come...

Of course I want all 23 or 27 or whatever... In fact I wish there were more all I am saying is this isn't the way to promote the entire activity except to woo new MM's.

[Big Bad Bari]

I am sorry that we agree too Jeff!

[JulesBry]

Blue Devils play stuff for years that is apparently too esoteric, can't please people. Too complex of themes to abstract ideas. They play Burt Bacharach.... Burt ####### Bacharach.... and build a house with ####### lincoln logs... can't get more middle of the road and tangible than that... and yet they still can't please people.

What more can you do? What do people really want? How to please you people?

Here's the thing. When you give a show a title/theme, there is a sensible expectation that the show will reflect the theme. When you put props on the field, you expect it to enhance, not distract.

Jeff has reminded us that there are three elements of effect: aesthetic, emotional, and intellectual. The disconnect between theme, music and visual hurts the "intellectual" effect. The props, which are generally ugly IMO, detract from "aesthetic". And that leaves emotion. There are moments when emotional things happen, but to me, it doesn't connect. I've tried to be open-minded. I even went back and watched the show a couple of more times, but it still leaves me dead as a doornail.

As a side note, I went back and watched last year's BD show, too. At the time, it didn't grab me either, but giving it another view, it has grown on me. This one has shown no signs of growth.

I suppose that's my opinion, and others can (and will) disagree. Still, from what I have seen in the stands this year, I'm not alone. I'm not sure I'm even in the minority.

Here's how BD can win me back next year:

1. Choose a theme and exploit it throughout the show. (See the plethora of X's and Y's in XtraordinarY, for example.) If you don't want to do a "theme" show, take a cue from Madison and call it "Another Drum Corps Fan's Dream".

2. Choose music that relates to the theme and has an emotional connection to the audience.

3. Minimize the props.

4. Feature marching and playing at the expense of everything else. (No "body sculpting", no synth pads, no thunderous goo, just awe-inspiring music in motion.)

[Big Bad Bari]

Here's the thing. When you give a show a title/theme, there is a sensible expectation that the show will reflect the theme. When you put props on the field, you expect it to enhance, not distract.

Jeff has reminded us that there are three elements of effect: aesthetic, emotional, and intellectual. The disconnect between theme, music and visual hurts the "intellectual" effect. The props, which are generally ugly IMO, detract from "aesthetic". And that leaves emotion. There are moments when emotional things happen, but to me, it doesn't connect. I've tried to be open-minded. I even went back and watched the show a couple of more times, but it still leaves me dead as a doornail.

As a side note, I went back and watched last year's BD show, too. At the time, it didn't grab me either, but giving it another view, it has grown on me. This one has shown no signs of growth.

I suppose that's my opinion, and others can (and will) disagree. Still, from what I have seen in the stands this year, I'm not alone. I'm not sure I'm even in the minority.

Here's how BD can win me back next year:

1. Choose a theme and exploit it throughout the show. (See the plethora of X's and Y's in XtraordinarY, for example.) If you don't want to do a "theme" show, take a cue from Madison and call it "Another Drum Corps Fan's Dream".

2. Choose music that relates to the theme and has an emotional connection to the audience.

3. Minimize the props.

4. Feature marching and playing at the expense of everything else. (No "body sculpting", no synth pads, no thunderous goo, just awe-inspiring music in motion.)

I know I won't change your mind but here are the words to "A house is not a home"

A House Is Not A Home lyrics

A chair is still a chair

Even when there's no one sitting there

But a chair is not a house

And a house is not a home

When there's no one there to hold you tight,

And no one there you can kiss good night.

A room is still a room

Even when there's nothing there but gloom;

But a room is not a house,

And a house is not a home

When the two of us are far apart

And one of us has a broken heart.

[From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/burt-bacharach-lyrics/a-house-is-not-a-home-lyrics.html ]

Now and then I call your name

And suddenly your face appears

But it's just a crazy game

When it ends it ends in tears.

Darling, have a heart,

Don't let one mistake keep us apart.

I'm not meant to live alone. Turn this house into a home.

When I climb the stair and turn the key,

Oh, please be there still in love with me.

I am especially drawn to the final verse when watching the house coming together and am in hopes that she is there and still in love with him!

[danielray]

maybe. but you do realize that this promotes the super 8 at the expense of everything else.

Remember DCI is supposed to be about the whole, not the few.

DCI is essentially a show promoter for really good marching bands. Nothing more, nothing less. It should have absolutely no mission or purpose other than the shows. So, it really isn't about anything other than producing and promoting events that are sustainable. Lineups and venues should be continually tweaked in order to maximize profitability in order to return the most cash back to the most corps.

There were loads of large shows that no TOC corps attended. 100% of that revenue went to non-TOC corps.

How is this an example of TOC coming at the expense of non-TOC corps?

[danielray]

The threat is not directly to the other corps, but to the other show sponsors in the region (not just on the same night, as very few fans go to more than one or two shows a summer), and then indirectly to everyone in the future. And then of course, even if the corps at the competing shows get their fee, lower attendance means fewer merch purchases, fewer fans gained, etc. Not to mention that the TOC corps are probably getting a bigger fee for those shows.

Regarding merchandise purchases, specifically... non-TOC corps tend to move more merchandise at the large shows that don't include TOC corps.

[camel lips]

Gag me with a alligator.

[camel lips]

Kids today gravitate towards Drum corps because it resembles their HS marching program.

I remember a day when we got excited about drum corps because it was DRUM CORPS. It was something that we could not obtain on the football field with our HS band program. We sat in awe of the corps because they played Bugles and they had power that could not be matched by HS band instruments.

Sad how times have changed.

[irishbugle]

DCI is essentially a show promoter for really good marching bands. Nothing more, nothing less. It should have absolutely no mission or purpose other than the shows. So, it really isn't about anything other than producing and promoting events that are sustainable. Lineups and venues should be continually tweaked in order to maximize profitability in order to return the most cash

back to the most corps.

DCI, like DCA need to have a much broader mission than the shows. It's an entertainment company. They are responsible for governing the activity, marketing, adjuticating, and so much more.

Most shows are corps sponsored. Example- the recent Meadowlands show in Nj was sponsored by YEA, not DCI. It was however, a DCI sanctioned event.

Drum Corps and Marching Band are two different animals. The simulatity of Instruments moving on the field is only at the most basic of levels. I'm sure we don't have to have that discussion.

[irishbugle]

Kids today gravitate towards Drum corps because it resembles their HS marching program.

I remember a day when we got excited about drum corps because it was DRUM CORPS. It was something that we could not obtain on the football field with our HS band program. We sat in awe of the corps because they played

Bugles and they had power that could not be matched by HS band instruments.

Sad how times have changed.

I would agree that kids today are gravitating to drum corps for reasons different than what they used too. But that passion of drum corps still remains. It's also a credit to marching bands for how much they have evolved to emulate drum corps, not so much that drum corps has came down to their level. I still believe young people are marching drum corps for all the right reasons. Just like you and I did. The product, is just different than what it used to be.